Proposal to set the thermostat higher sparks debates on office attire and computers
PETALING JAYA: While the proposal to raise the temperature of air-conditioning in government offices has been well received, it has stirred up debate among private sector employers.
Many of them said that turning up the temperature to 24° or 25°C, as proposed for government offices, to reduce carbon emissions may not be viable in some office environments.
However, many were keen on the idea of wearing less formal attire to the office.
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SME Association of Malaysia president Ding Hong Sing said setting the air-conditioning at 24°C or 25°C may not be viable as offices are filled with computers.
“The computers will heat up. We need a cooler temperature for them, otherwise, they will get damaged fast,” he said.
Ding, who is in the food sector, said colder temperatures are needed in his industry to also keep germs away.
“We need at least 18°C,” he added.
On the argument that this would help reduce the carbon footprint, Ding said it would be better to use air-conditioners powered by green energy such as solar energy.
“With solar energy, we can reduce the use of electricity,” he said.
But as this will require substantial investment, it is not viable cost-wise, he said, adding that there is no correlation between air-conditioning and wearing more casual attire instead of formal wear in the office.
He was commenting on the statement by Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad on Aug 22 that the dress code for civil servants has been relaxed and they are now allowed to wear batik to work every day instead of just Thursdays to adapt to the change in the temperature at their workplace.
He added that he had tabled a memorandum on the proposed Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act to the Cabinet on Aug 2 which also included streamlining the temperature in government buildings and agencies to between 24° and 25°C.
He said the decision was made given the country’s climate and the government’s commitment to achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 by reducing the carbon footprint from electricity use.
Nik Nazmi said the move will also allow civil servants to match their dress code with changes in the temperature of their premises in line with the government’s efforts to conserve electricity and support energy efficiency efforts.
In an Instagram post, he said he had often voiced out how cold government buildings could be and also the impractical dress code.
It was the Prime Minister himself who first walked into his office tie-less, and the rest followed suit, he added.
“So I thought this offered us a chance to change the dress code,” he said, adding that the current dress code is very formal and “colonial”.
He cited as examples the Japanese government, which launched the Cool Biz campaign in 2005 to promote a no-tie, no-jacket dress code to reduce energy used for air-conditioning, as well as the Spanish government, which in 2022 urged public and private employees to stop wearing ties to save energy by keeping cooler.
Agreeing with Ding, a human resource manager in the IT industry who declined to be named, said while employees are allowed to dress in business casual, the dress code may not have much impact on energy consumption.
“We hardly have employees dressing up in batik, but we certainly allow them to dress in jeans and T-shirts on certain days.
“The air-conditioner is kept at a cooler temperature, which is lower than 24°C, because we have a lot of computers and electronic devices in the office,” he said.
“Batik is something we can consider for special occasions.
“It is still formal wear, but it is a lot more convenient than the usual Western office wear. It is also a good way to inculcate our culture,” he added.
Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Mohd Effendy Abdul Ghani said some companies in the private sector have already started implementing initiatives such as allowing employees to dress more casually.
“Casual dressing is also already implemented especially for employees in the support or administration department.
“MTUC will always support initiatives that encourage the private sector to wear batik to work, especially those who work in administration or support,” he said, adding that it will also be cost-effective.
